Heavy rain across Indonesia's earthquake disaster zone hampered relief efforts on Monday as health officials sought to contain the risk of disease caused by the thousands of buried bodies.

Heavy showers soaked the devastated city of Padang and the surrounding rural areas, adding to the misery of those left homeless by the 7.6-magnitude quake that struck last Wednesday.

Foreign aid and emergency teams continue to pour into Padang, but there is now little hope of pulling survivors from the wreckage of homes, hotels and offices.

"Our focus right now is to find the dead bodies," Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Priyadi Kardono told AFP.

The United Nations has said that at least 1100 people were killed in the disaster, but estimates of the final toll range up to 5000.

Police helicopter pilots told AFP that bad weather was jeopardising their missions to ferry supplies and medical equipment to remote villages that have been smashed by landslides. Risk of disease

Health officials said they were now racing against time to prevent outbreaks of disease caused by decomposing bodies and a lack of clean water.

"There is a concern that dirty water supplies can spread skin disease and other kinds of diseases. Flies on dead bodies can also spread bacteria to people," Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya said.

"In anticipation of an outbreak, we sprayed disinfectant on residential areas yesterday."

The government said it had set aside 6.0-trillion rupiah ($624-million) for reconstruction in Padang, the worst-hit city where most buildings have been damaged or completely destroyed, including hospitals and schools.

"The total is not less than 6.0-trillion rupiah earmarked for the quake, beside the 100-billion rupiah for the emergency fund," Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie was quoted as saying by Koran Tempo newspaper online.

There were also signs on Monday that the city, home to one million people on the west coast of Sumatra island, was taking its first tentative steps on the long path to recovery.

Excavators still raked over collapsed buildings and many of the injured were being treated in tents, but at some of the city's schools, teachers said they were trying to resume classes.

"I have been ordered by the governor to open the school again today, but only 60 students came out of 800," Muhammadiyah school teacher Karmila Suryani said.

Suryani said they would have to find other buildings to resume teaching as part of the school was damaged and off-limits to students.

Foreign aid trickling in

Outside the city, foreign aid was trickling into isolated hillside villages that were flattened in the quake or obliterated by giant landslides.

Teams from Japan, Germany, Russia and Singapore have set up mobile clinics outside Padang with dozens of doctors and nurses treating patients.

Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told AFP on Sunday that the final death toll could reach 3000.

The quake struck off Sumatra's west coast near Padang, on part of the so-called "Ring of Fire" system of faultlines and volcanoes that make Indonesia one of the most quake-prone countries in the world.

Another 5.5-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's West Papua province on Sunday but there were no reports of injuries.

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AFP

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